The always candid Dolly Parton has revealed that she’s in favor of granting gays and lesbians the rights to marry.

“Sure, why can’t they get married? They should suffer like the rest of us do,” the outspoken superstar told CNN show host Joy Behar. When Behar suggested Dolly’s Southern roots might not mesh with the idea of marriage equality, the singer agreed, “I know that’s true.”

Dolly’s not alone. This year, Reba McEntire surprised some of her conservative fans when she spoke in support of her gay fans and “many gay friends.” “Don’t judge me and I won’t judge you,” she said. “Keep an open mind.”

The nation’s Catholic bishops approved a position paper that emphasizes the church’s traditional positions on marriage Tuesday, the same day that the D.C. Council agreed to schedule a vote on legalizing same-sex unions for Dec. 1.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Wednesday voted 23-12 to pass the Domestic Partner Benefits and Obligations Act, which would extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal government workers.

The bill is now likely to move to a full House floor vote, which many anticipate could take place before the end of the year.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington is warning the District of Columbia Council that the church will stop contracting to provide social services if the city approves same-sex marriage as planned. To which the only valid response is, “OK.”

November is National Adoption Month, a fitting time to recognize the strides Florida has made in turning around its foster care system and putting more children into permanent homes.

The state’s child welfare system is still in need of major improvements as illustrated this spring when 7-year-old Gabriel Myers, who was taking an anti-psychotic drug that neither his mother nor a judge had approved, killed himself at his Broward County foster home. Gabriel’s is one of several horror stories starring the Florida Department of Children and Families since the state privatized foster care and adoptions.

Still, the number of children in foster care — which has steadily decreased — and the number being adopted — which has steadily risen, tell a different story — one of success and hope.

Florida set a record this fiscal year with 3,777 adoptions through June 30. Of those foster children, 162 were in Palm Beach County, 20 in Martin County and 44 in St. Lucie County.

There have been 600 finalized adoptions since July 1, and about 200 — including 50 in Miami on Friday — will become final this month, putting those children in permanent homes in time for Christmas.

Florida also has seen a drop in the number of children in foster care. As of July 1 of this year there were 19,797 in foster care, a decline of 9,483 since the beginning of 2007.

The days of denying a person a job, housing or even service in a restaurant solely on the basis of bigotry are not entirely gone. The Tampa City Council will vote Thursday on whether to protect transgender individuals under the city’s antidiscrimination laws. It is the right move and long overdue.

In a previous post, we talked about the problems that same-sex couples may face if they decide to untie their various legal knots — whether they’re married, part of a civil union or in a registered domestic partnership.

When a heterosexual married couple splits, they have access to divorce court and are entitled to the tax-free division of their property. With gay couples, that’s not necessarily the case. Depending on where they live, they may not have access to divorce court. Even if they do, they may face higher costs because their unions aren’t recognized by the federal government.

So we asked several experts on same-sex issues what gay couples need to think about before legally partnering, and what they’ll probably need to consider should they decide to split.